Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. It began officially on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo when a Serbian nationalist murdered the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and his wife. It ended four years later with the world a different place than it had been. There have been many commemorations of the war in the media, yet for all the words written and spoken about it, relatively few have focused on what for many Jews was its most significant result — the creation of the State of Israel.

After receiving the bitter news about the murder of the three kidnapped boys, a cloud of mourning has descended upon the entire Jewish nation. The only bit of consolation is that probably they did not suffer long, and that now they are attached to the Almighty's mantle, in a closeness of everlasting fondness and permanent remembrance before Him.

It’s now summer and judging from the “For Sale” signs that have popped up like dandelions on suburban lawns, the real estate market seems to be in full swing. As anyone who has purchased a home can tell you, an essential part of the home purchasing experience is the dreaded inspection report.

The Talmud (Ta’anit 5b) teaches us that the Biblical Jacob never died, despite the eulogies that were delivered in the presence of his mortally deceased body. His impact continues so long as his children, the Jewish people, endure.

I congratulate Reuven “Ruby” Rivlin on his election to the presidency of our beloved State of Israel. He is now president-elect of the only Jewish nation in the world, and the symbolic leader of the world’s most diverse Jewish community. The State of Israel was founded to build a creative and inspiring Jewish and democratic homeland that offers its people a bright, welcoming and inclusive future. He follows a particularly strong predecessor, President Shimon Peres, whose inspired statesmanship brought together divergent streams of people for the good of Israel.

The Jewish Week reported last month on an initiative called iREP, created by the Jewish Federations of North America, to “limit or end Orthodox control of personal-status issues such as marriage, divorce, conversion and burial,” beginning with support for civil marriage in Israel.